Isaiah 39

posted 18 Dec 2013, 02:36 by Ben@theorderoftheblacksheep.com

The
man who was king of Babylon, Merodach-baladan (Baladan’s son), heard
about Hezekiah—how he was so very sick and then got better. So he sent envoys to Hezekiah with letters and a gift. 2 Hezekiah was delighted at the kind gesture from so great a king, so he welcomed his guests and showed them the best of Judah’s treasures and talents—silver and gold, precious spices, and oils that wafted the smells of paradise. He gave them a tour of his armory and showed them all of Judah’s military equipment and everything they’d stashed away for future need. Hezekiah held nothing back from their appreciative eyes. He showed them everything in his house and his kingdom.

3 When Isaiah the prophet heard about Hezekiah’s tour, he hurried to the palace and confronted Hezekiah.

Isaiah:What in the world have you done? Where did these people come from? And what did you talk with them about?

Hezekiah(puzzled by Isaiah’s obvious distress): They came from a great distance simply to extend kind wishes for my recovery from their king! They came from Babylon.

Isaiah:4 What did you show them? What have they seen in your palace?

Hezekiah:Well, everything. They have seen all that I own. I put all of my treasures on display. I didn’t hold back anything from them.

During
Isaiah’s life, the Northern Kingdom (composed of ten Israelite tribes)
flourishes and then falls, and the Southern Kingdom of Judah is battered
by surrounding nations but persists. Eventually the Southern Kingdom
itself falls, not to Assyria but to Babylon. Shockingly, the Babylonians
destroy the capital and raze the temple where the Holy One of Israel is
uniquely present with the people.

The
Lord determines these events because their failings—as Isaiah described
in such detail—and their refusal to correct their attitudes and
behavior necessitate punishment on the order of national destruction.
God’s covenant people have broken their part of the agreement and
be-come unfit to live as people of Zion.

The
scene has shifted. The situation has changed. The threat from Assyria
now seems a distant memory. A new reality encompasses the people of God:
Jerusalem and its glorious temple have been destroyed, and the key
citizens of Judah have been carried off into exile by the Babylonians.

While
tradition credits the entire book to Isaiah of Jerusalem, many scholars
think these next 16 chapters are recorded by another prophet years
later in the spirit of that great prophet of Jerusalem who proclaimed
much of the previous writings. Whether this was Isaiah speaking in the
future prophetically or another person used by the Spirit to continue
Isaiah’s ministry, the traditions and ideas of Isaiah are so closely
followed by the next chapters that they have been collected and included
in this large book named after Isaiah. The time and circumstances are
different, so the message is a bit different too. It is equally
passionate about righteousness, Zion, and the Holy One of Israel. These
events occur about two centuries after Isaiah’s death in the land of
exile—Babylon.

Isaiah:5 Listen well to what the Eternal, Commander of heavenly armies, has said: 6 “The time is coming when everything in your palace—everything of value kept, passed down, and stored by your ancestors to this present time—will be taken away to Babylon. Of everything that you showed this Babylonian contingent, nothing will be left. Absolutely nothing will remain here,” says the Eternal One. 7 “Even
some of your sons yet to be born will be taken to exile. They will be
castrated and forced to serve in the Babylonian royal house.”